He (the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him) called people to the straight path.
Indeed, the guiding path for us is to obey him and Allah, while for the Prophet peace be upon him (PBUH) it is to call us to Allah and obey Him. We are all the servants of Allah and must submit to Him.
Yet, still the Prophet PBUH and all Prophets are raised by Allah above the descendants of Adam through their submission to Allah first. In this regard, they are the first of the believers. Finally, the straight path is explained only by Allah - one must accept all of the Prophets and what has been established about the path in their books.
Moreover, the Qur’an is a criterion over these previous scriptures, and as such confirms them. Humans are thus continued on a path that is singular and from a one Lord. In this way, differences between religions and sects can be resolved from the foundations and structures of belief through all of the known Biblical (Old and New Testament) Prophets and their books. For instance, the discrepancies between the Christian and Jewish faiths in chronologies, accounts and creed delimits their paths.
Then, the straight path can be only undertaken with Islam; there is congruency in its moderation of and openness against the ambiguities of these two religions. This can be seen in its acceptance of Jesus - as the awaited Messiah of the Torah rejected by one group but incorrectly deified among another.
Thus, the Qur’an, as a divine revelation and apparent from its qualities to non-Muslims, expounds the straight path but entrenches belief to the acceptance of Islam. Yet, in its call from the Final Messenger - Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him, the premise of Islam is the submission to the only Lord.
- By Laila Ali Haid
